Story+1999-10-21+Los+Angeles,+CA

”Thank you....good evening, office supply lovers......I was telling the folks the other night, I been.....I been trying to meet Mr.Staples and.....it’s been a little difficult, uh ....so yesterday I went and (?) Los Angeles history to see if there was a Governor Staples or....Mayor Staples but.....I didn’t have any luck.....thought I might bump into him backstage or one of the sky-boxes but...(?) said ‘No, it’s just a company’.... just kinda continuing in the trend of, uh.... you know, corporate naming of a public space.....and uh....I read uh....(?) actually, I read the papers, read something in the papers yesterday , actually they´re gonna be .....changing some city names (?).... New York City is gonna be renamed Barnes and Noble City ....there´s gonna be a Barnes and Noble Yankees....and uh......I think that uh .....they’ve changed the name of Madison Square Garden as of next month to a Colonel Sanders Garden....and uh....I think that even governmental agencies are gonna be renamed, I believe the FBI is gonna be called, uh....Bob Big Boy Bureau of Investigation......all the cops’ helicopters will be sporting Bob’s Big Boy (?) .....Miami got the toughest break , Miami’s just gonna be the swish, Nike swish symbol.....it’s actually gonna have no name, it’s gonna be kinda like Prince....so it’s gonna be known as ‘The City Formerly Known as Miami’, that’s right..... you’ll get used to it....and uh (?), they are gonna be changing all the sky-boxes to temporary housing for downsized corporate executives....anyway, it’s a brave new world, we just work here.....here’s a little dedication.....”
 * 21.10.99 Los Angeles, CA, intro ‘Mansion on the Hill’:**

”Can you feel the spirit (cheers).....can you feel the spirit (cheers)....I can feel myself fill with the spirit tonight.....I feel filled with the ghost....the ghost....not the ghost of Tom Joad but the ghost of Tom Jones (cheers)....bring it to me baby.....(sings ‘It’s Alright’ and ‘Take Me to the River’)....that’s right.....I want to go the river...and I wanna be baptized.....in the hands of the people.....I wanna go to that river of life....I wanna go to that river of love.....and the river of hope....and faith.....the river of sanctification......the river of transformation.....the river of resurrection .....the river of sexual healing....and companionship..... I wanna go there tonight and I want you to go with me.....because that’s why we’re here..... because I need to go with you......because I know....I know.....I know that you can’t get there by yourself.....no, you can’t.....everybody tries.....and you run and you hide.....and you try but in the end..... in the end...... you can’t get there by yourself.....and so I stood..... as a young man....I stood before a grove of dark trees one evening...... and I couldn’t pass through those trees, I was frightened like a little child..... even though I knew that the river of life.....the river of meaningful life.....a full life, was waiting on the other side.....like a child , I couldn’t pass through those trees because I was afraid of the.....responsobilities that that life might bring.... and so I stood there paralyzed with my legs like stone and my arms like lead , said ‘Man, I’m gonna run.....I’m gonna run and I’m gonna keep on running.....’cause that’s what I know how to do....I’m good at that’.... and then I heard a voice in the trees and I stepped through... and there was a gypsy woman sitting out in front of an air-streamed trailer....selling cold beer at a reasonable price....and I told her my problems and my....my fears, my anxieties.....and she said ‘What you need, son , is you need a band , you need help‘.....and that’s why I’d like to introduce tonight the dean of the university of musical perversity, the Secretary of intelligence, Professor Roy Bittan on the piano.....with me at the riverside.....I want to introduce the Secretary of faith and friendship, keeper of all that is righteous on E Street, the king of badabing, star of the Sopranos, Little Steven on the guitar....brother man standing with me at the riverside.....I want to introduce the foundation of the E Street nation, Southern man, Mr.Garry W.Tallent on the bass....standing with me at the riverside.....the Minister of the mighty beat, the Secretary of syncopation, the star of Late Night Television, Mighty Max Weinberg pounding on the drums.....standing with me at the riverside..... I want to introduce the Secretary of heart and spirit, Godfather of the guitar, the great Nils Lofgren....with me at the riverside......the Minister of mystery and Secretary of all things unfathomable in this life and on E Street, my brother Dan Federici on the organ and accordion.....standing with me at the riverside....now, you know that you can’t get there.....without love in your life.....and it’s hard, so hard to come by.....but you can’t get there without love.....in your life.....and I learned a simple equation .....it went : brunettes are fine, blondes are fun but when it comes to getting a dirty job done, it takes a (crowd : ´Red headed woman´) yeah, man, I´m searching for a (crowd : ´Red headed woman´) I got to find myself a (crowd : ´Red headed woman´) oh, man, I´m looking for a (crowd : ´Red headed woman´) I want to, I want to say (crowd : ´Red headed woman´) I got to have you, girl (crowd : ´Red headed woman´) oh, man, I´m searching for a (crowd : ´Red headed woman´) come on now, baby (crowd : ´Red headed woman´)(Patti sings ‘Rumble Doll’) the First Lady of love.....Secretary of sweet harmony, on the guitar and vocals, Miss Patti Scialfa (cheers).....standing with me at the riverside....but still....still there was something missing.....something essential..... something important.....something fundamental.....I’d like to place a nomination for the President of the United States....if nominated , he will not run, if elected , righteousness, justice and a party will prevail..... the Minister of soul, the Secretary of brotherhood, emperor of all that is E Street..... do I have to say his name ?.....”
 * 21.10.99 Los Angeles, CA, middle of ‘Tenth Avenue Freeze Out’:**

”Thank you..... this is for, uh.....all of my friends from the....Storefront ....Shelter that are with us tonight, this is uh....this is a San Diego shelter for homeless children and (?)...San Diego is the only emergency shelter specifically designed for....homeless kids, they work to keep the kids from being sexually exploited and victimized and they try to work ‘em towards a life off the streets.....they’ll be in the lobby tonight, they can use your help and your support....an important organization down in San Diego reaching out to....struggling kids .... I’ve been down there and I’ve met the people and seen the place and it’s worth your support and your time....so folks from the Storefront Shelter of San Diego (cheers)....”
 * 21.10.99 Los Angeles, CA, intro to ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’:**

´´L.A !....Los Angeles !.....soon to be called Los Staples !....but everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve seen people lost in confusion....I´ve seen people lost in the wilderness....I´ve seen people lost on the cellphones.....I´ve seen people lost on the freeway....lost in bitterness...in faithlessness ....in hopelessness...well, ladies and gentlemen, Brothers and Sisters, we´re here tonight, we´re trained professionals on a search-and-rescue mission, on a search-and-rescue mission, if you´ve been downhearted, disspirited, disgusted, dispossessed, analyzed, downsized, stigmatised, fractionalised, Pokemonized, retropsychedelicized, pass-another-tax-cut-for-the-rich-Republicanised, it ain´t too late to save yourself, you can still save yourself, I wanna tell you that we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight, we´re here tonight to re-educate, to resuscitate, to regenerate, to reconfiscate, to reillustrate, to reindoctrinate, to resexualate, to rededicate, to reliberate you with the power and the glory, with the power and the glory, with the power and the glory, the majesty, the mystery, with the ministry of rock and roll !... that´s right, that´s right, that´s my job and I love doing it !....I wanna say that unlike my competitors, unlike my competitors, I shall not, I will not, I shall not, I cannot, I shall not promise you life everlasting....but I can promise you life....right now !...and all you gotta do is raise your hand and say ‘I’.....”
 * 21.10.99 Los Angeles, CA, middle of ´Light of Day´**

//Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi//